Healing is a Process
by my shangri-la
Summary: A little piece from Dom and Letty's time in Mexico directly after the first movie. One-shot.


**Healing is a Process**

**Summary: Just a little piece from Dom and Letty's time in Mexico directly after TFATF. One-shot.**

**Rated: M – for language and… Dom-and-Letty-ness**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own anything, just my imagination.**

"_Motherfucker!_" Letty snarled irritably. Maybe even she could admit that her cursing was a bit excessive over laundry… but she _really_ freaking hated when her bra straps got tangled with the pant legs of his jeans while they tumbled around in the dryer.

She hated that almost as much as she hated doing laundry in the first place. How did she get stuck doing their laundry? Well, Dom had taken off nearly six hours ago, and she had done every available activity in the house out of sheer boredom and frustration.

Their crap-hole house was clean at least. She couldn't complain really. The place had running water, A/C, and the cable was hooked up. Not to mention they had real flooring, even if it _was _crappy. The bathroom and kitchen floors were peeling linoleum, and the living room and bedrooms had ugly tan carpeting that would have made Mia cringe.

It had been the longest eight weeks of Letty's life. Two months had always seemed to go by so quickly in L. A. They had always been so busy. The garage, the parties, the cars-

Now she was literally counting the days. For what, she had no idea. She was aware they had no end game for this hell they had put themselves in. And in her heart, she also knew that this wasn't what Dom had meant when he told her they would end up in Mexico. But she still didn't think she'd ever been so angry at him in her entire life – and that was saying something. Because the Lord knew that man could piss her off like no other.

And now her rage was building, had been since he had ordered her and Leon to get the hell out of the States, saying he would follow. Her weak grip on her self-control was about to lose the game of tug-of-war it had been playing with her emotions.

Leon was… _gone._ He had left almost three weeks ago, needing to lick his wounds over the loss of Jesse in peace. And the tension that radiated between her and Dominic was damn uncomfortable. She wished Leon well, she really did. Letty would miss him.

But the fact of the matter was, now it was just her and Dom in this house, alone with their problems. And Letty had had about enough.

She could admit that she hadn't been the best version of herself since this mess had happened. It had taken Dom ten days before he got to them in Mexico. Letty had been taking pain medication from the doctor for her injuries she had received when the car flipped. And while those nice little pills did marginally help with the physical pain – let's face it, two cracked ribs couldn't be fixed with a pill – her emotions were raw in a way they hadn't been in years. The fuzziness of medication couldn't push that far enough away.

But where the pain medication had failed her, alcohol hadn't. She had spent several weeks after her pills were no longer necessary trying to drown herself in a bottle of Jack. She wasn't proud of it, but it had happened. This was the clearest she'd been in three weeks.

It was why the time she read on the clock pissed her off as she untangled and folded their laundry. He'd been gone most of the day. She glanced towards the kitchen. It was so tempting to just go back to the bottle. To let the alcohol drown her pain in the haziness that allowed her to believe that she could put off their problems for another day. She knew from past experience that it wouldn't work. And tomorrow would just be a repeat of today.

Today was her breaking point. She wondered how much yelling she could get done before her chest felt like it was going to explode. She doubted Dom would let her shout at him anyway. It was part of why he'd been disappearing during the day. That and the fact that last week he had told her he wasn't going to stick around all day just to watch her drink until she passed out on the couch.

Letty had spent the last ten nights on the couch. And before that… they hadn't had sex since L. A. First it was because of their injuries, and then because she couldn't seem to stop herself from sniping at him.

It was like the fucking Cold War.

It was one thing when they could fight until it was over with, but this drawn out length of repressed emotions was toxic for their relationship.

Her anger was warning him off like the shake of a rattlesnake's tail. She knew it wasn't fair. Even in the midst of this, he was still taking care of her. He made sure she ate enough to prevent alcohol poisoning, and even though he couldn't carry her to bed because she was still too sore for him to pick her up, she woke up every morning covered with a blanket tucked carefully around her.

It was a sweet gesture, but her fury always drowned out the feelings of comfort when she realized he was gone again.

_This could not be how the rest of their lives were going to go._ And her back was way too goddamn stiff to sleep on the couch for another night.

00

_Things had been tense – more so than usual – for several months before Brian showed up. Dominic had been edgy since they had started with these truck jobs. He had been about as un-fun as he had been for the first few months after coming home from Lompoc. Mr. Life of the Party was now Mr. Grouchy-pants._

_There wasn't any sure-fire way to get him out of his moods either. Letty had tried. Sex worked temporarily. A shouting match relieved some tension, but left Letty feeling like she had spent hours bashing her head against a brick wall – and then they usually ended up pissed off at each other._

_Letty finally got to the point where she was tired of dealing with Dom's issues – especially since he wasn't currently talking to her about any of it – and decided that they all needed some fun._

_The following Friday after they finished up in the garage, she heard Dominic muttering about '__**still having shit to do**__' as he left. She dug through her wallet and pulled out a few twenties, and passed them to Vince._

"_Go to the liquor store and pick up some pizzas", she ordered sternly. "Do __**not**__ buy porn and lottery tickets with my money."_

_Vince grinned, took her money and tweaked her chin playfully. "You got it, ma."_

_She slapped his hand away. "Get going. I'm hungry."_

_Vince loped off to his car and she smirked at the squeal of tires. Give him food and alcohol, and Vince was good to go. Letty finished locking up the garage, and took off for home, Leon and Jesse following her in Leon's car._

_They got back to the Fort and Letty rummaged under the couch for Leon's massive CD collection, sifting through cases. Finally she glared up at Leon from her spot on the floor. He was busy smirking at her. "__**Dude**__", she whined, shoving the box at him. "Can you organize this shit?"_

"_Nah", he chuckled, "Too much effort."_

"_Just find some decent music", she grumbled, pulling her hair loose from her ponytail. "It's been quiet as death in here lately. I'm taking a shower real quick", Letty said getting up. "Don't set anything on fire."_

"'_Don't set anything on fire'", Leon snarked sarcastically._

_She rolled her eyes and ran up the stairs._

_0_

_She was only upstairs for twenty minutes, but the impromptu party had started without her – or at least the drinking had. Letty had changed from her work clothes. She hadn't gone as far as to put her pajamas on, but she was comfortable in a pair of baggy jean shorts and a black racer-back tank top._

_Letty stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spread her arms wide in a cocky impersonation of Dom. "Yo, wasn't this fuckin' party my idea?"_

_Someone had coaxed Mia from her room where her nose had been pressed in a textbook, and she was sprawled easily on the couch in a way that Letty hadn't seen in a long time. The younger girl had been plied with enough beer to be relaxed._

_Vince snorted. "'Bout done gettin' yourself all dolled up?"_

"_Bite me."_

"_So classy, baby girl", Leon grinned lazily._

"_Leo, man, I thought you were going to find some tunes", Letty raised an eyebrow. She downed a shot before going to grab a beer from the fridge._

_He let out a groan of complaint but hoisted himself off the other end of the couch he was occupying with Mia and went to flip through his collection before putting one in the stereo system and cranking the volume when the song started. "You gonna shut your ass up now?" he cocked a playful eyebrow._

_She smirked, recognizing the CD. "It's good", Letty answered lazily, pouring herself another shot and tossing it back quickly. By the time the song that Letty was waiting for came on, they were all a little looser and more relaxed._

_Mia's eyebrows furrowed though. "What the hell is 'The Dougie'?"_

_Letty snorted. "Dance", she answered slightly bemused, stretching her legs out where she was sitting on the floor._

"_I thought I trashed this one", Vince complained._

"_You know you love it, V", Letty teased._

"_I know that look", he scowled. "You wanna shake your ass, that's your business. Don't get me involved."_

"_What? Letty, you know the dance?" Mia asked with a laugh._

_Letty gave her a vicious grin. "One of Hector's friends taught it to me when we were kids. Vince knows it too."_

"_Shut it", Vince growled._

"_That I'd love to see", Leon cackled._

_Vince glared at the other man and then back at Letty. They would ride his ass for this forever._

"_C'mon, V-dawg", Letty grinned. "Dance with me."_

"_You're gonna get us both in trouble", he answered flatly._

"_Dare ya."_

_He rolled his eyes. "Let, that shit don't work-"_

"_Double dare ya", she taunted, leaning back on her elbow, eyebrow raised in challenge._

_He leaned forward from his position on the arm of the couch and leered at her playfully. "Wasn't that how you got me outta my pants last time we played this game?"_

_She laughed. "Hey, man, we all know you've got no shame. You were the one that had that naked phase when you were eight, and would streak around the neighborhood in nothin' but your altogether."_

"_You looked", he smirked._

_Letty waggled her eyebrows at him. "Twice", she admitted over the raucous laughter. "You bare-assed runnin' down the sidewalk with your Captain Long John flying in the wind", she cackled. "Of course I fuckin' looked. I'd never seen one before."_

"_**What?**__" Mia squawked. "How did I not hear about that?"_

_Letty waved her off. "You were four."_

"_Hey, keep the dick naming to Dom, chica", Vince grumbled._

_Her hand covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. Saying 'the dick's name __**is**__ Dom' would be neither helpful nor appropriate given how messy things were between them right now. And despite what people said, she did possess a __**modicum**__ of restraint._

"_Fuck, I'm drunk", she said finally, still grinning. Letty poured another shot, but slid this one across the table at Vince who was watching her with lazy amusement. "C'mon", she grumbled. "Dance with me. Quit bein' a pussy."_

_He glared at her steadily for the comment as he took the shot and then reached for the stereo remote. "You owe me", he growled in no uncertain terms._

_She smirked. "Whatever. You know I deliver."_

_Five minutes later had Mia, Leon, and Jesse – who actually __**stopped playing GTA 3**__ just to watch – were both laughing their asses off. Mia had tears streaming down her cheeks and Leon had fallen off the couch._

_Letty wasn't sure if they were laughing at her or Vince more, given that neither of them acted this stupid __**ever**__ – not since they were teenagers. But Letty had been ready to get a bit crazy, and if this is what it amounted to in their living room, well, so be it. She knew even with Dom most of the time, she held up her tough-chick persona because their relationship had been really fucking painful over the years. But right now, Dominic, their resident fun-ruiner, was nowhere in sight, and it felt good to just let go._

_If she couldn't be an idiot in front of her family, she would have to rethink her priorities._

_And Vince… well, he was jumping around next to her like a giant, muscley moron, acting like he had swag, and that made her about double over in laughter._

_**Their family was closer than most. They lived and worked together. Alone time was damn near unheard of… but that being said, they had an array of inside jokes and stories to fill a book. She and Vince had the most history since they had grown up together, and even when Dom hadn't been around, Vince had protected her – as much as she had let him.**_

_**And lately… well, she wasn't sure who else exactly Dom thought she was screwing, but he had been acting so damn weird. He was possessive if he caught her horsing around with the guys. The fact that Vince's wang was the first she'd ever seen notwithstanding – it had never meant anything one way or the other; they just always had to give each other shit. They were her boys. And she spent more time alone with them than they all spent together with Dom around – especially lately.**_

_**Vince was one of a very short list of people that she would trust enough to take orders from when they were under the wire. He was her brother in a way that Dominic never could have been. And even if hers and Dominic's relationship was on thin ice right now, she was content with the rest of her friendships.**_

_They tripped over each other. Vince's arm caught her around the waist barely keeping her upright – alcohol just added to the hilarity of it all when the front door opened._

_Letty groaned loudly and Vince swatted her thigh. "I __**told you**__ we were gonna get in trouble", he growled in her ear, his voice covered by the blaring music._

_Dom entered, shutting the door behind him, eyeing the array of bottles and shot glasses, plus the pizza boxes. "What the hell's going on in here?"_

_Letty groaned louder, in an unnecessarily theatrical manner. "Oh, good god, he's gotten so boring he doesn't recognize fun when he sees it."_

_Mia hid her face in a pillow trying not to giggle._

"_Excuse me?"_

_Vince rolled his eyes._

"_Sorry, did we need your permission to chill out with some food and alcohol?" she asked incredulously, unimpressed with his anger._

_Dom turned eyes on his sister. "Don't you have studying you should be doing?"_

_Leon groaned. "Dude, she was locked up in her room like it was the bat cave. We had to send Jesse in there to get her out."_

"_She was goin' cross-eyed with note cards", Jesse shuddered. "It was __**not**__ pretty."_

_Mia raised her bottle in a mock-toast, mouth still twitching, "Best idea you guys have had."_

"_Letty-"_

_Her stance was rigid – had been since he'd walked in – but her eyes softened marginally, pleading with him silently. "Come on, man. You're ruining my buzz", Letty sighed._

_Vince nudged her hard enough that she lost her footing and stumbled. "Don't think that's possible", he chuckled, catching her arm._

_Her punch landed on his ribs and made him wince._

"_Dom", she tried again._

_He just sighed, rolling his eyes as he walked past them towards the kitchen. "Whatever. I need a beer for this shit."_

_0_

_Later that night after the rest had drifted to their bedrooms, Letty found herself on the couch with Dom on top of her, naked except for the thong he had just pushed to the side. All the lights in the house were off. His hands were iron on her hips, and she was pinned immobile underneath him. His body pressed her into the couch, and she had no give at all. The only reason this position worked right now was because of the pillow she had shoved under her lower back._

_Her left leg dangled off the side of the couch, toes brushing the floor, her right leg bent at the knee trapped between his side and the back cushions of the couch. The sex was slow but hard. Letty wished she knew what was going on in his mind when he got quiet like this. Their skin was slick from the heat generated between their bodies. Letty was just on the brink of an orgasm when she heard a groan of disgust._

"_Goddammit", Vince complained heading into the kitchen, unlucky enough to have gotten up for a glass of water. "Other people sit on that couch."_

_Letty wasn't sure if it was due to a prospective audience, or the fact that Dom could tell that she was __**just**__ that close to falling over the edge, but he slid an arm underneath her, hoisting her up against him enough to tilt her hips to give him the perfect angle to hit that spot inside her._

_She had to muffle her shrieks against his shoulder. His husky laugh ruffled the hair on top of her head as he kept thrusting into her. "Touch yourself", he growled roughly._

_She let out a low whine that she would deny later, but slipped a shaky hand between them as he kept her high and flying without relief. He sped up, leaning down to catch her nipple in his teeth, and she was coming again, hard enough she thought she might have blacked out. She had given him a decent bite mark on his shoulder, as his orgasm followed hers._

"_Nice rack, Let", Vince teased as he passed by again, pausing only briefly to shake his head in disgust. "We need a new couch."_

_She didn't even bother to respond, knowing that between the shadows of darkness and Dominic hovering over her, nothing was visible._

"_Bed?" Dom suggested finally, once they caught their breath._

_She nodded._

00

Dom didn't show up for another hour and a half. Her mantra of 'I am a calm and rational person' was not helpful. _She_ had heard his car engine, but he looked as surprised as hell to see her upright and sober, cooking in the kitchen. She was making chicken stir-fry for dinner. And her stomach was protesting the wait. She had eaten, but it had been a while since she'd had something she could call a decent meal.

He stood in the doorway, watching her warily. "Let, you okay?"

"Where've you been?"

He came in and set a few bags on the counter. "Beer", Dom said finally, looking her over with a practiced eye, finally landing on the water bottle on the counter.

"You've been gone nearly eight hours", she said flatly.

"What are you doing?"

She turned back to the stove, "Dinner."

"It's gonna be that kind of a night, huh?" Dom asked, sounding resigned.

Letty felt him walk up behind her. She bit her lip at the feeling of his body heat, not realizing how cold and isolated she had felt these past two months until right now. His hands settled gently on her waist, knowing her left hip was still bruised from being slammed into the car door when she flipped.

"I know you're angry, Letty-"

"S'not like you could've missed it, right?" she interrupted a bit sarcastically.

Dom smirked against her neck. "No, but I missed you."

"Sweet talk will get you nowhere", she advised seriously, but she didn't pull away.

"I didn't fall for you because you were a push-over", he reminded.

Letty snorted. "Oh, please. You just wanted a challenge to conquer. I'm sure you thought that little crush I had on you would make it easy for you to get into my pants. You had no idea I was gonna make you work so damn hard for it."

"You tricked me with your feminine wiles, damn you", he chuckled.

"I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Yeah, you are", he said quietly. "Sorry if it feels like I forgot."

"We've been drowning, and it hurts", she managed to force out despite her constricted throat. "I hate all this shit."

"I know, baby. Me too."

"Dom-" she was interrupted _loudly_ by her own stomach.

He smiled slightly and reached around her, taking the skillet off the burner. "Sounds like we'd better feed you, huh?"

"Turns out you can't make a meal out of liquor", she said wryly. He turned her around to face him, pressing a kiss to her forehead before wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly until she hissed. "Makin' my ribs creak, man", she chuckled, pulling away, trying to erase the worry lines on his face. _Had he looked like that for the past two months?_ "You hungry?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I could eat."

"Can you-?" she gestured to the cupboard, and he grabbed two bowls.

"You're ribs still hurt that badly?"

She made a face. "I was so pissed when I woke up today, I think I cleaned", she admitted wryly.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're not sure?"

"I'm blocking it out", she said flatly.

He grinned. "Should I ask what saved me from the ass-kicking you were about to dish out when I walked in?"

"Not if you're smart", Letty said archly. "I don't have the energy for it", she sighed. "I miss you. I checked out on you and I'm sorry."

"Letty-"

"No, we were in this together when I agreed in the first place. The blame isn't just on your shoulders, Dom. Make no mistake, I'm still pissed as fuck that you didn't listen to me, but we all made the choice. We have some decisions to make, but I'd really like to deal with the rest of it tomorrow, okay?"

He gave in with a nod and waved her towards the rickety breakfast table. She took a seat and watched him serve up their food and took the chair next to her.

"I talked to Hector earlier. He went to see Vince", Dominic said after a bit.

She looked up sharply. "Tell me."

"The doctor should be releasing him by the end of next week. He's supposed to go to PT for six months afterwards, but we both know how likely that is. The cops aren't staked outside his door anymore, so he'll probably disappear as soon as he can."

"Do you think he's going to show up here?" she asked quietly.

He sighed harshly. "I really don't know, Let. I'd say it's going to depend on how pissed off he is."

"Great", she muttered.

"He's got the number for the emergency cell phone. He'll call when he's ready. One other thing? Hector said the cop took off", he shook his head incredulously at the bizarre situation.

"What?"

"The LAPD is saying he went rogue or some shit like that. His face is plastered across the news, and they can't find him."

"That's crazy. Why would he have done that?"

Dom shrugged. _He had been mulling that over for a while, and had a few theories, but he may never know what the right answer is._ "I don't know. But I think most people involved in undercover work probably don't have a lot of family waiting on them. I don't think it was all a lie."

She shrugged, "Maybe not." Letty got up and went to rinse her plate off, and then left it in the sink to clean up later.

He followed suit, and then leaned against the counter next to her. "Are we fighting tomorrow until someone wins?" Dom raised an eyebrow.

"Probably", she admitted.

"You coming back to bed tonight?"

Letty snorted. "Well, I'm sure as hell not spending another night on that couch. My back is killing me."

"You didn't have to be so stubborn about it the first time around", he challenged.

"Do you _want_ to fight now? Personally, I'd rather get laid. But if you're good…" she trailed off, glancing down pointedly.

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her sternly. "You're still hurt."

"You sayin' you can't be careful with me? We both know that's not true", she said softly.

"Letty-" he protested.

"Dom, please- I just need to know we're going to be okay."

He sighed and pulled her against him carefully. "Hey, you're stuck with me, alright? You and me, we're always going to be okay. Now how about you take your sexy ass to the bedroom and let me work the kinks out of your back. We'll see what happens after that."

"Never thought I'd have to beg _you_ for sex", she grumbled against his mouth as he kissed her again.

"Let me take care of you first, make sure you're up and running. Then if you're up for it, you can be on top", he smirked.

"Such a generous offer", she teased. "I see you're right back to being bossy in the bedroom."

"Says the woman who has left an almost permanent bite mark on my shoulder for the past few years", he snorted. "I'd say you are pretty pleased with our bedroom arrangements, Let."

Letty cocked a playful eyebrow. "It's not like I was lodging a formal complaint-"

"I'm gonna lodge something here in a minute", he growled against her neck, walking them back towards the bedroom, making her burst out laughing.

00

**A/N: Well, it's not another chapter for 'An End and a Beginning', but I've been working on this one for a while, and finally got it finished. Weird, kind of dirty, and inspired by something I read and rather liked, even though it wasn't exactly a Dom/Letty story. I know, *gasps!* Let me know what you think.**


End file.
